Bolton Castle

Mary, Queen of Scots was brought to Bolton
Castle on 13th July 1568 where she spent six months under the custody of the
ninth Baron Scrope and Sir Francis Knollys. During her captivity she and her
retinue took over the Solar (above right) and the whole of the adjoining suite
of rooms including the Upper Hall, a little room off the Solar (which was
probably a nursery or the room of her attending ladies) and two large bed
chambers in the tower directly above. The Solar was a small family sitting-room,
warm and sunny, in which Mary spent hours gazing out of the window and writing
long, desperate letters to people of influence. Off the Solar is a little
passage which leads to a "garderobe" (wc). What is unusual
about this is that it was very sophisticated for its time. Complete with
plumbing and a discharge pipe ending in a septic tank designed to be emptied
every six months, it was considered so efficient that it was still used in
Victorian times.

The Great Chamber was the large hall that went with the
private apartments, and was only marginally smaller than the largest room in the
castle, The Great Hall. While the Great Hall was used for meals and
entertainment, the Great Chamber was a comfortable family room. Sir Francis
Knollys and Lord Scrope once played chess in this room, while Mary sat by the
window doing her needlework. Below is the adjacent nursery or Mary's attending
ladies' room.